Of Diligo Quod Bellum
by Amazing Cougar
Summary: When the Ministry of Magic falls under the control of Death Eaters it heralds the beginning of a dark new era where Muggle borns are expelled or killed. DG, DeHan, RHr, SePar, NLa fic!
1. The End of the Beginning

Of Diligo Quod Bellum

**Author:** Amazing Cougar (amazing_cougar@yahoo.co.uk) 

**Rating** ~ R, Dark things to come  
  
**Category **~ Dean/Hannah, Seamus/Parvati, Neville/Lavender, Ron/Hermione, Draco/Ginny and many, many others....(Hey, it's us!)****

**Disclaimer:** We own nothing - everything bar the plot belongs to JKR. 

**Summary: **When the Ministry of Magic falls under the control of Death Eaters it heralds the beginning of a dark new era where Muggle borns are forcefully expelled from the wizarding world or killed. As this darkness grows, the future rests on the efforts of the Resistance scattered throughout the Muggle and the wizarding world. 

**Author's Notes:** Well would you look at that, Gracie (Amazing Gracie) and Marianne (Sunnycouger) wrote a fic! Or, to be more precise, are writing one. Together. This is our little baby so any FB is greatly appreciated 

Prologue - The End of the Beginning  
  
Hannah Abbot was trying to think of a way to fall asleep discreetly. She briefly considered a silencing charm so that if she snored the person sitting next to her, who happened to be Ernie McMillan, would not be alarmed by the sudden noise. However, she soon dismissed this notion because she knew that the second she closed her eyes her parents, who were sat three rows behind her, would notice her lack of attention and probably fire a less that subtle hex her way to wake her up so she wouldn't miss 'such an important event'.  
  
The event in question was her graduation from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardary and try as she might to pretend otherwise, she couldn't seem to escape the finality of the occasion. The four school houses were sat in four different sections of the main hall, which had been decorated with banners of the school crest and there was a distinct feeling that everyone was on their best behaviour. Gone were the boos when either Gryffindor or Slytherin were mentioned by the teachers, gone were the catcalls and sing songs aimed at the more prominent members of the 'elite' houses. No, she noticed as she sat and tried to waken up, everyone seemed to be trying to impress their parents and make it seem like the school was one big family. Of course anyone who had ever been a pupil at Hogwarts would see through this facade right away but the Muggles would probably be happier if they didn't know the politics that went on in the school.   
  
The Gryffindors were quite naturally sat at the front of the hall, right below the place that Professor McGonagall was stood making a speech about what a 'wonderful' year group they had been. Right beside them were the 'next best thing' - the Slytherins. They would never have chosen to sit shoulder to shoulder with the Gryffindors yet there they were - the two most important houses in the school. One that had spawned He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and the other who spawned The Boy Who Lived. Thinking about it, she couldn't really think of anyone of great importance who had come from Ravenclaw (who were seated behind the Slytherins) or even from her own house, sat behind the Gryffindors. That lack of fame was probably why they were relegated to the second division of importance in the school. A house probably had to produce a wizard of great note to be taken seriously and the best chance that Hufflepuff had ever had was Cedric Diggory, who had died before he had come close to reaching his potential. He hadn't even got to sit here and listen to an overly long graduation speech; he had been murdered before he could.   
  
She sighed and shook her head - now wasn't the appropriate time to think of the past. Now she had to concentrate on the future, and all it held, but more importantly staying awake. She titled her head to the left slightly so she could see the back of her boyfriend, Dean Thomas's head. Really, it was all Dean's fault she was this tired. The night previously they had received their NEWT exam results and as Dean, herself, and their friends Lavender Brown, Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan and Parvati Patil had all passed with varying degrees of success, they had decided to celebrate in Hogsmeade. This had, in theory, been a very good plan for them to go out and blow off some steam and relax on their own before they would go out again with the rest of the year after the ceremony. But, like all good plans it had changed and the intended 'little, quick celebration' had very quickly turned into a large, long celebration which lasted until very late in the morning. Very late. By rights, Hannah thought, she should have still been in bed at nine a clock, not sitting in the Great hall trying to concentrate on her Graduation.   
  
Of course, she reasoned somewhat feebly, this was supposedly one of the most important days of her life. Her parents had always said that apart from her wedding day and giving birth, the most treasured memory she would have would be the day she graduated as a fully qualified wizard. Arguing about it had been somewhat futile, especially when saying that you didn't think anything would be able to beat meeting Viktor Krum and Oliver Wood and you had done that already. They would only reply with 'you'll see what we mean one day. Just think what the poor Muggles get when they finish school - nothing. But you can learn how to apparate and do proper magic. You will remember this day forever.' She hadn't really believed them as a fifteen year old and as she sat here, three years later while willing her eyes to stay open, she had to say that she couldn't imagine remembering much of this. But, it was important to her parents so maybe it wasn't wise to sleep through it. After all, in ten years they would ask, "Weren't we right all along about the Graduation? Do you remember how wonderful it was, dear?" They wouldn't exactly be happy to hear her say, "Well, not really, I was asleep for most of it. I had a really good time the night before though."  
  
No, that wouldn't go down well at all, she decided. She looked over and tried to concentrate on McGonagall's speech - but as it kept going, and going, and going, she realised that the voice was drifting further and further away. She shook her head quickly and sat up - since when had it been customary to have an hour long intro? Couldn't they just thank them, say well done and then let them graduate? Dumbledore hadn't even spoken yet - so it still had a while to go. She stifled a yawn as she decided to have a final look at the people she had been spent the majority of her time with over the past seven years, her fellow students. The four houses weren't that hard to tell apart anymore, most of the students were friendly with each other and liked to intermix. Well, apart from the Slytherins, who still very much kept themselves to themselves, thinking that they were by far superior than the rest of the school.  
  
Her friendships with pupils from the other houses was something that she was particulary proud of herself for - it had taken a while to happen right enough but when had, it had felt right straight away. Her very best friends were in Gryffindor, not Hufflepuff and, although she was still good friends with Justin - who she had spent a lot of time with since the weirdness with Ernie had started, as well as the girls in her dormitory; she still spent far more time with Lavender, Neville, Seamus, Parvati and her boyfriend Dean. She didn't really get on that well with Ernie anymore - which had been hard. When you are best friends with someone for six years and it ends it hurts a lot. She turned to look at Ernie who seemed desperate to look interested in what McGonagall was saying and smiled sadly. Yes, it had been hard but in the end it had worked out for the best. She had lost one friend and gained five. The definitive silver lining on the cloud of the friendship ending.   
  
She still wasn't entirely sure about what had happened with him - it was one of those situations when the whole thing seemed to come from nothing and as hard as she had tried to she couldn't really explain it. It had happened in their sixth year just before the Summer Ball. Ernie had wanted the two to go together and Hannah hadn't wanted to ruin their friendship by muddying the waters with a relationship. He hadn't taken it well and they hadn't spoken for four weeks. In these four weeks Hannah's life had changed significantly.   
  
For starters she got her first real boyfriend ever.  
  
She felt herself smile as she looked towards Dean who was whispering to Seamus and Harry about something. Who would have thought it? How could the clumsy, quiet Hufflepuff and the tall, boisterous Gryffindor work? Yet it did - somehow, miraculously. He had asked her to the dance just when she was about to go with Ernie just to get him to talk to her again. She hadn't expected to be asked, he hadn't expected her to say yes and that started the whole wonderful thing. She owed Ernie thanks for that - if it hadn't been him then she wouldn't be this person. She wouldn't be this happy.  
  
She shook her head and turned away from Dean - as much as she wanted to there was no point spending time looking at him. She would see him plenty in the future after all. No, it was the others she would have to remember. People she didn't really know, people she would have liked to know better and people she wouldn't. She wondered what they would all do with their lives now?  
  
There were the 'usual suspects' of course - the people who were just so obviously going to do a certain thing. Harry Potter was obviously going to be an Auror - probably not by choice but choice and Harry just didn't seem to go hand in hand. Hannah sighed as she looked at the black haired boy, laughing but trying to hide it as he pushed his glasses up on his nose. She couldn't imagine having his life - she didn't want to imagine having his life. The thought of having so many people depending on you, having someone else's life in your hands and not having a choice you could make yourself. She knew that he wanted to play Quidditch, she knew that Oliver Wood was desperate to get him to play for the Magpies. She knew that he would be happier than ever before if he could do that. But, she also knew that he wasn't going to do it because Harry Potter didn't get to be like that. Harry Potter got to be a saviour and saviours were Aurors and that's what he was going to be - no matter what else he wanted.  
  
He wasn't the only person going that way though - Hermione Granger, sat looking sternly at the boys as she tried to keep the smile off her lips, was also going to join the Ministry. Hannah wasn't sure what branch Hermione was going to work in, but Dean had said that she had already been accepted and would start work a few weeks after school finished. Hermione was definitely Ministry material and would probably be promoted up the ladder quicker than anyone who had come before her and be running the place in a few years.   
  
Ron Weasley was probably going to work there as well for one reason...well, two reasons. He would work there because Harry and Hermione worked there and he probably figured he would be able to keep them safe. She felt herself smile as Ron reached over and whispered something in Hermione's ear which caused her to smile and blush at the same time as she turned her head to look directly at the stage as Ron gave a sign to the boys sitting beside him.  
  
The other obvious candidates though weren't Gryffindors. She turned her head to look at the Slytherins who were sat in an almost rigid fashion. Where was the laughing and smiling? Non-existent apparently - maybe the occasion wasn't as hopeful or exciting for them. Maybe they didn't have the same future choices that the rest of the school had. In this house there were a couple of people who had a 'career' all lined up and none more so than the blonde haired boy at the front of the stage. Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy - Death Eater, Dark Wizard, Sociopath, Xenophobe, Elitist...the list went on and on. And everything Lucius Malfoy was, no doubt Draco Malfoy would one day be. She looked as Draco turned and looked at his father and mother. She half hoped that he would smile, or laugh, or acknowledge some sort of natural emotion that a day like today warranted but, as he saw his parents, he simply turned back around. His expression didn't change at all. Typical Malfoy - seven years and the only times he had been happy had been at someone else's expense. She doubted he was capable of emotions, much like his father.  
  
The other contenders in Slytherin were Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini. Pansy, naturally nasty to anyone who wasn't one of her own was a natural to go into the Ministry in some capacity. Her mother was a minister for something and it seemed natural that Pansy would go and join her. Hannah looked at Pansy intently. It was no secret that of all the Slytherins, it had been Pansy that had scared her the most. She had always hated walking past her because although she would never attack you physically, mentally she knew how to press the right buttons. How many times had Hannah, or one of the other students, been in tears because of persistent taunting? But, despite this, there had always been a nagging doubt in her mind about what Pansy was like. She seemed to genuinely care about her friends and her house mates so she couldn't be completely evil. No, as strange as it seemed, Pansy had a semblance of a heart hidden somewhere like the rest of her family. Close, but not truly evil. As Dark families went the Parkinson's were pretty low on the ladder. Unlike the Zabini's.  
  
She turned her head to look at the dark haired boy. She had to confess if she hadn't been aware of what the Zabini's were like, she would have found Blaise attractive. His dark hair, his blue eyes, his charming almost friendly manner, his ability to seem, even for a Slytherin somewhat likeable were all very different from what other people expected from his house. But she knew what his family were like - she knew what they did. And although it had never been proven, she knew how dangerous and cruel they could be. Experts in their field of planning and 'persuasion' for generations - each generation of Zabini had been more creative and worse than the previous. No, the Zabini's were at the top of the ladder below only You-Know-Who and the Malfoy's and that made the prospect of him and Malfoy graduating at the same time a scary one. Blaise Zabini would join his family's business and he would do the job well.  
  
She heard clapping and looked up from the Slytherins to see McGonagall leave the stage so she began clapping herself. Finally, they could get this show on the road. She turned back to look at the Gryffindors who seemed to be fighting against dissolving into fits of giggles as they looked at Dumbledore who was looking at them all with a mixture of pride and sadness.  
  
"I promise you I shall be brief before we start with the festivities as I am sure Professor McGonagall has probably said everything important and more in her...'long'...farewell speech. It is customary for us, as teachers, to bore you all half to death before we let you graduate - so you will have to excuse me," Dumbledore said to the laughing assembly before continuing. "An occasion such as today is always a hard one for a headmaster and the staff who have grown to know you all over the seven years you've been here. We've done our best to create talented and capable wizards in all fields be it the more traditional magic aspects, the more recent developments in magic or the scientific disciplines. Some of you excel at Transfiguration, others Potions and," he said with a smile towards Neville. "A few of you have become skilled in the great fields of Herbology, Charms or Divination. Everyone in this room has learned all that we can teach you. Because of this we should, as teachers, be glad of getting rid of you. Yet I have always found that this occasion is a sad one and this year it is no exception. In fact this year I'm afraid I'm finding it especially hard to let my students go out in the world on their own when I can't be sure of their safety."  
  
He looked almost old, She found herself wondering how the most powerful Wizard and her hero had got so, well, frail It seemed almost wrong that such a man should grow old Hannah thought as he took a moment to look around the students before continuing. "It is hard because the world you are entering is a dangerous one that is becoming more and more hazardous with every passing minute. Yet, despite this danger you all must go out into the world and shape your own future because time will not stand still until the world is safe. Life will go on and you must live it. Now, some of you may have your future apparently drawn out for you already - that you have no choice in what happens next," he said as he looked at Harry and then towards the Slytherins and Draco. "For those of you who feel that this is the case, I have this advice - trust in yourself. Do not trust in what you hear from others and do not trust others blindly. Those who follow another person's path are libel to fall down the same holes that they have in the past and make their mistakes. No one who is worth following will expect blind obedience so trust your own instincts and you will never go wrong. Others," he said as he looked towards the Ravenclaws. "You may have a dream to just live a happy life - do that but live it well, don't take that happiness from the suffering of others. Enjoy your life but let others do the same. For some," he said as he looked directly at her briefly with a smile before turning to the assembly again. "You may not believe that your lives will make much difference in this world - you are wrong. Everyone in this room has the chance of achieving greatness and I believe that many of you will. I have faith in my students - I have faith in you. Go on and be great - and if you cannot be great, be good - for our world will need both."  
  
Hannah applauded with the entire class as the students all stood and applauded their headmaster for the final time. That was it - the final speech that Dumbledore would ever give them and it had been sad, and depressing and, thinking about what he had said at the end after he had looked at her, confusing as hell.  
  
****  
  
Albus Dumbledore stood in a room just beside the Great Hall where he could hear the laughter and cheering of the students as they celebrated with their families and friends. He walked to the door and looked out at his newly graduated students - so young. So young to face what would come next and he still wasn't sure if they were ready. So much rested on so few and they hadn't the benefit of life experience to judge. He looked over to see them all dance and laugh and smile - even Harry. The boy who would save the world one day not so long from now. He shook his head and closed the door as he walked over towards the fireplace.   
  
"You are getting old and nostalgic, Albus - this happens every year," he said to himself as he sat down. It did indeed happen every year but this year had a very important difference. At no other point in his history at Hogwarts had he watched the potential saviour and the potential destroyers of the wizarding world graduate at the same time. Watch them celebrate so very close to each other. He reached over to the table and pulled over a small tray of silver dust and began tracing his wand in it causing it to turn into a fine mist building. He looked at the building he had created and shook his head - it was so soon for them to face what would come.  
  
"You know, some people would think that you weren't happy, Albus." He turned his head to see Remus Lupin standing at the door. "I've been sent with very set instructions to extract you from your hiding place so the kids can see you before they go off down to Hogsmeade."  
  
"Away to sample the local hospitality for a final time - oh to be a century younger to join them."  
  
"I believe Severus said he was going and I thought Harry was going to collapse in shock not realising that it was sarcasm. Who would have thought that he would be graduating already - if only James could see him now." Remus said wistfully.  
  
"Yes, James would have been proud - his son has turned into a fine young man."  
  
Remus smiled proudly. "There was never any doubt of that - I swear I think Sirius is just about bursting with pride today."  
  
"And so he should be. But, I worry, Remus...I worry that we expect too much from him."  
  
Remus shook his head as he looked out the door. "I don't expect anything apart from him living a nice happy life..."  
  
"I wish it were that simple," Albus said with a sigh as he stood from his chair. "But unfortunately the future is rarely that kind."  
  
Remus had turned to look at him when there was a flash at the fireplace and a wizard fell out of the flames. "Albus! Albus!"  
  
He turned around and Remus ran over beside the wizard, his wand raised. "Diggory?"  
  
"Amos, what's wrong?" Albus asked as he knelt down beside the wizard. "What happened?"  
  
"It's happened. It's all gone. They're dead...it's finished," Amos said as tears fell from his eyes and streaked down his face. "All of them...just...just gone. We didn't stand a chance..."  
  
"What's he talking about, Albus?" Remus said as he knelt down. "Who's gone, Amos?"  
  
Amos reached over and grabbed Dumbledore's hand. "They will take him! The others are safe just now but they will take him! It's all over..."  
  
"What is he saying?" Remus asked as the man on the floor began to cry. "I don't understand!"  
  
Dumbledore stood and walked over to the tray of sand where the mist figure still hovered. It was too soon. He had expected it but not so soon. Damn them. "The Ministry - the upper circle of the Ministry has fallen to the Death Eaters as well as some Aurors I suspect..."  
  
"What?!" Remus asked as he stood up. "No, it can't have...it..."  
  
Albus looked at the smoke figure again as a skull emerged from the top of it - the Dark Mark that was now over the top of the Ministry. "It has begun. They pounced when all our energies were on making today safe - the eyes of the wizarding world were here while Voldemort's were where they had always been - on an opportunity for power. And because of it the war has begun." He closed his eyes and brought his wand down hard on the tray of sand, dispersing the building with a clatter as he looked towards the door. "It has begun"  
  
TBC 


	2. The Start of Everything Else

**Author:** Amazing Cougar (amazing_cougar@yahoo.co.uk) 

**Rating** ~ R, Dark things to come  
  
**Category **~ Dean/Hannah, Seamus/Parvati, Neville/Lavender, Ron/Hermione, Draco/Ginny and many, many others....(Hey, it's us!) 

**Disclaimer:** We own nothing - everything bar the plot belongs to JKR. 

**Summary: **When the Ministry of Magic falls under the control of Death Eaters it heralds the beginning of a dark new era where Muggle borns are forcefully expelled from the wizarding world or killed. As this darkness grows, the future rests on the efforts of the Resistance scattered throughout the Muggle and the wizarding world. 

**Author's Notes:** Well would you look at that, Gracie (Amazing Gracie) and Marianne (Sunnycouger) wrote a fic! Or, to be more precise, are writing one. Together. This is our little baby so any FB is greatly appreciated 

**__**

**__**

**_Of Diligo Quod Bellum_**

**__**

**_Nobody said it was easy _**

**_It's such a shame for us to part _**

**_Nobody said it was easy _**

**_No-one ever said it would be this hard _**

**_Oh take me back to the start_**

**_~ Coldplay - The Scientist ~_**

~ ~ * ~ ~ 

_Chapter 1_

Hannah Abbot considered herself, in general, to be a sensible person. When she had still attended school she hardly ever got into trouble, well to begin with anyway. After she began going out with Dean Thomas and started spending time with the rest of the Gryffindors she found that the occasional late-night trip to Hogsmeade and other such activities were much more fun than following every rule to the letter. But all in all it was all innocent fun and Hannah never considered her behaviour to be terrible, or risky. 

However now, at the mature age of nineteen she was breaking the biggest rule she ever had. She was sneaking out to meet her boyfriend in secret as no one would allow them to see each other because it could be deadly - not just for them but for all the people tied to them.. _'The biggest rule I've ever broken is meeting someone I love,'_ she repeated in her head. She would have laughed if the situation wasn't so serious and dangerous. 

The reason she had to 'sneak out' to meet Dean was because of her job. As an employee in the increasingly 'pure blood only' Ministry of Magic she wasn't permitted to meet Muggle born wizards or witches - or, as Lucius Malfoy had called them in the staff briefing earlier that day, Mudbloods, anymore. The name made her wince - the idea that Dean had dirty blood, that he wasn't good enough for the wizarding world was unbelievable to her. But, as her job required she had to pretend otherwise. 

The simple fact was that if she was caught meeting him by anyone at the Ministry or if they were informed on her 'traitorous' ways by anyone who knew her position, the consequences, she was told by Lucius Malfoy, would be dire. She hadn't asked him exactly what he meant by 'dire' but she wasn't sure she wanted to know. Lucius was creative and no doubt he could choose any number of punishments to fit under the 'dire' category - it wasn't worth thinking about. 

So here she was, at the age of nineteen, sneaking out to meet her boyfriend in a street just outside Diagon Alley in Christchurch street. It was a secluded, dingy alley and she was due to meet Dean at eight p.m.. She knew that these meetings were intricately planned and they had learned how to time them to perfection to protect themselves. There was no room for romantic notions of moonlight strolls or anything else remotely couple like during these meetings - it was too dangerous to indulge in that luxury and that was hard for her when all she wanted to do was spend the night with her lover without having to look over her shoulder. But that couldn't happen, so this was the best they got - clandestine meetings that broke all the rules they had agreed to. If anyone caught them then the chances were they would lose their lives due to the sensitivity of what they were doing. A Ministry worker and a 'Mudblood', a spy and a renegade, a Hufflepuff and a Gryffindor. She had to say that the whole story would have made a great subject of a romantic novel - she would maybe have to write it once she had finished living the part. She looked at her watch and tried to keep her mid active by imagining other bizarre career paths she could have one day in order to forget the fact that Dean was late. Why then was he late? She looked down at her watch to see it had turned eight twenty five and began looking up and down the alley as a wave of panic swept over her. Dean wasn't usually late - he knew that it was dangerous for them to stay too long in one area and he was meticulous about minimising that risk. Unbidden a question began to invade her thoughts - maybe something had happened to him? She knew that attacks on Muggle borns had steadily been going up in the past year as she had read reports on it in the Ministry - what if something had happened to him? What if he had been hurt...or worse? 

No, no, Dean would be fine, she reasoned internally. He was more than competent at disarming and blocking spells and he would certainly be able to look after himself if he needed to, she thought in a vain attempt to reassure herself. 

But what ifHannah allowed her mind to wander down the path of what ifs, which she had been known to do as a child. This tendency often got her the label of being a "dreamer" as she was known to drift into 'what if' dreams in her classes. But they were nicer 'what ifs' like 'What if Gilderoy Lockhart suddenly realised he was in love with me and came and asked me to marry him?' That was a popular one throughout Hannah's second year. The ones that were flitting through her mind now were frightening questions - what if something really bad, something dark had happened to Dean? 

While Hannah was lost in her thoughts, a hooded figure approached her from behind and slowly, quietly, carefully put their hands onto her waist. 

She screamed, and spun around moving backwards slightly so the hooded figure's hands were no longer on her. She reached instinctively for her wand and was about to curse the hooded figure when he held his hands up in surrender. 

"Hey – hey, it's alright, be quiet!" said an all to familiar voice under the hood. Hannah felt her breathing slow considerably and her heart beat calmed slightly. 

"You prat! Take that hood off," she said, glowering at the face that emerged. 

"Well I hardly thought it was a great idea to go showing off my face so near Diagon alley, it's almost like having a sign saying 'I'm a Muggle born who's working against the Ministry, please attack me!'" Dean Thomas said grumpily. 

"Well you didn't have to creep up on me you git, I was about to curse you into smithereens," Hannah snapped back. She tried to remain angry as she slid her wand into her robe pocket but looking into his face – a face she hadn't seen for so long she felt her anger practically melt away. 

"Oh, Dean," she whispered, launching herself at him and hugging him fiercely. 

"I'm sorry for scaring you," Dean mumbled into the top of her head, returning her hug. 

"Forget it," she said as she leant up to kiss him. As their lips touched, gently at first before increasing in urgency, she found that a a feeling of contentment spread over her as she drank in every second of the contact they made. As her head began to cloud over from the euphoria she inwardly cursed the fates for keeping him from her for so long - it wasn't fair that she couldn't do this any time she wanted. 

"So fill me in," she said after they eventually pulled away from each other. She felt herself smile as his arms snaked around her waist and she rested her head on his chest where she could hear the steady beat of his heart. It was a reassuring sound - a sound she had heard many times as she had lay in his arms. 

"The paper's going well, Lavender's making a cracking reporter." 

"I'll bet," Hannah said fondly. She always knew that the inquisitive Gryffindor would be able to put her outgoing nature to good use and she had done. What had been a surprise was that she was now working with Dean in a job that was not without considerable risk. 

"We all miss you, everyone sends their love," Dean said as Hannah closed her eyes and sighed. It was easier when she didn't think about her friends to pretend that she didn't miss them. But she couldn't do that now - she was learning about what they were doing from a second hand source and it reminded her that she couldn't just see them anytime she wanted to. She couldn't just appear in a fire and gossip about who was seeing who. She couldn't go shopping with them for robes they would never wear. She couldn't do any of that and that reminded her why she missed her friends so much. 

"Seamus and Neville are starting to teach and Hogwarts in a few days. I spoke to Seamus and he's bloody nervous. He kept muttering that he remembered what we all did to new teachers when we were at school. Although I can't for the life of me imagine what he means," said Dean with feigned innocence. Hannah giggled and waited for Dean to continue. 

"Harry, Ron, his family and all the usual suspects have all disappeared again into their new hidey-hole that we will no doubt only find out about once a million wards have been set up to hide it." Hannah nodded, it was probably the safest option for few people to know the location of the main branch of the resistance. 

"And the Ministry?" Dean asked, snapping her out of her comfortable reverie. Hannah felt her heart sink at the mentioning of that place. 

"I wish I could bring good news" Hannah started. 

"But you can't. I know. I didn't expect good news." 

"Somethingbig is happening. Muggle borns and even half bloods need to be careful. The Ministry is going toWell, I don't know exactly what they're going to do, I'm hardly high enough up but I know it certainly isn't going to be good," Hannah said. 

"Any idea what we're looking at?" Dean asked. 

"Well," Hannah said, trying to think of way to word what she was going to say calmly but with a degree of urgency so Dean would see the importance of being careful. 

"Increase of attacks, the sacking of Muggle borns from any position of power or authority, you can expect hostility from every day civilians; the Ministry will probably be quietly encouraging that. A propaganda campaign increase against the resistance andI think they might do something to Hogwarts," Dean let out a low whistle. 

"That really is a nastily long list on nastiness," he said quietly. "Old Lucius is hardly saving anything for later if he's doing all that at once." 

"I get the impression that this isn't the worst of what they've got planned," Hannah confessed. Dean pulled away from their embrace and massaged his closed eyes. Hannah watched him as he tried to take in all the information she'd given him. The fact that he was of Muggle descent must have made the news harder to hear but rather than look scared or angry he just looked tired. They had all heard so much since she had started working there that nothing seemed to shock them anymore. 

"You have no idea what it's like working there," Hannah whispered. Dean opened his eyes and looked at her, an expression of pride playing on his features. 

"I know. When this is over I'm going to get everyone to know what a herookay, heroine I have as a girlfriend." 

"Oh yeah, me right up there with Harry Potter," she said with sarcasm thick in her voice as she laughed. She certainly didn't feel like a heroine - truth be told she felt out of her depth. 

"Well, no offence to Harry, but you're a hell of a lot more attractive than him." Hannah laughed again, but she stopped immediately when she heard a sound. It could have been nothing, it could have been the faint footsteps of a Muggle enjoying their normal lives, but if it was a wizard, one with sinister intentions 

Dean stopped and listened intently before he turned to Hannah. 

"Time to split?" he enquired. 

"I suppose," said Hannah, although no single part of her wanted to leave. Even her brain which she could usually rely on to drag her back and make her see sense was saying,_"But you haven't seen him for so longStay."_

"Do we really have to go?" she mumbled. Dean smiled sadly, and came over to hug her. 

"You have a job to keep and I have a pretty face to protect, we don't want your job lost or my face beaten in by these 'pro Ministry - let's kill a Muggle' brigades." Hannah nodded. He was right, damn him and his logical brain. 

"I love you," Dean said, and Hannah felt her insides clench. She never got tired of hearing that. 

"I love you too." But there it was, the sound again. Dean swore, and gave Hannah one last, fleeting kiss. Then he was gone, hood up again and running down Christchurch street. Hannah was alone again. 

Sighing Hannah looked around again, seeing no culprit for the mystery sound. She began to trail down the dark London street, completely oblivious to the pair of eyes watching her every move. 

****** 

Lavender Brown enjoyed the buzz of early morning air. She had always been like that and she had been lucky enough to find a job where it was a desirable attribute. There was a Muggle saying that 'the early bird caught the worm' and she liked to think that applied to her. The early reporter got the story, and the fact that within her office she was the earliest riser had helped her no end. She enjoyed seeing the sunrise and running past all the wizards who were still half asleep on the way to work. Truth was, it amused her and she enjoyed the feeling of being annoyingly bouncy when she could see other people in her office ready for falling asleep. This enjoyment was usually gleaned mostly from Dean Thomas, when he would usually stroll in the office on the dot, yawn for an hour and, after she had plied him with caffeine suddenly come alive. She was lucky that she got on with Dean so well because it was a constant source of amusement to her as she tried to drive him crazy with being overly perky first thing. Yet, today, as she walked into the office of the Daily Prophet she was rather shocked to see her friend already at his desk and sketching away with a smile on his face. It was a strange occurrence that anyone who worked in the paper would have a smile on their face as, since they had become an independent underground paper renowned for being anti-Ministry, the prospect of arrest was considerably high. Add to that the fact that what they actually reported was, upsetting to say the least, usually made for a rather sombre working environment. 

Nonetheless, there he was smiling, laughing and early. She walked over to him and peered over his shoulder and felt herself smile as she looked at the pictures he was drawing of his girlfriend as he hummed along happily. "Now either someone has been breaking all the rules and has met our mutual friend recently or you are missing her like crazy. Due to your earliness I am going to say it was the former. Am I right?" 

He nodded his head as she walked round beside him and sat down. "Both. I'm going crazy - these little cheap stolen moments are making me insane. The thought of her, in there with...them. It's just...it's not worth thinking about because when I do think about it I want to go in there and throttle them all." 

She sighed and nodded her head. She had been less than happy at the prospect of sending Hannah in as a spy in the first place but, a year on and the fact she was still there was too hard. As no one could see her due to how dangerous it was, Lavender hadn't had a conversation since just after their graduation. As hard as it was for Lavender not being able to see her friend it had been especially hard for Dean. The combined worry of the persecution of Muggle borns and the fear he had of Hannah being discovered had made it doubly difficult for him. "She's clever, she knows to be careful." 

"She knows to be careful, but they don't play to any rules that we know anymore. How do we know that she's alright?" 

She shook her head. "Because she has to be. You can't think about this - it'll drive you even more insane and we like your brain being on the right side of sanity." She grinned as she looked at him. "So, tell me - what did she say?" 

He smiled then as he looked at his notebook. "She was great. She said something big was going down though. She couldn't tell me anymore but she was worried. Really worried." 

Lavender bit her lip. She had always been scared at the prospect of the Ministry's operations being moved to the next level - it had been hard enough in the first place when a lot of the supporters of Dumbledore had been murdered. It could only get worse now. "We'll check it out and see if we can find anything out and tell the others," she said as she leant in close to Dean, keeping her voice low to avoid anyone else hearing. "We'll contact Dumbledore and Harry tonight if we find out anything else. Maybe they'll want to pull her out if things are going to get worse." 

He nodded his head as Lavender pulled back and sighed as she pulled a paper out of her cloak. "But, until then we may have another problem - have a look at what the 'True Wizardry Tribune' has on it's front page." 

He yawned as he leant back in the chair. "Please tell me it's yet another article on the wonders of having a pure wizarding bloodline or the evils of those Mud-bloods - because, God knows I haven't seen one of those in at least two days." 

She laughed as she unfolded the paper and spread it out. "Even better, we have a big picture of the 'saviours' of the wizarding world to gaze at." 

He jumped up and looked at it and laughed. "Ah, what a Slytherin class we produced - three of them smiling like right little Nazis. Their parents must be so proud. Oh wait, their parents are there as well and they are proud, lovely." He shook his head in disgust. "I can't believe they are allowed to get away with this." 

"Well, it's designed for 'True' wizards - you know, the kind who would probably foam at the mouth at having a picture of the poster boys of the Death Eaters in their midst. I mean look, Draco and his dad, Blaise and his dad and brothers, plus the ones in the background...in a sick sort of way they're a good looking group. They certainly put a good public face on the 'bad guys', if you know what I mean. Then of course there's Pansy who still looks like a hard faced little cow, so it's only fair she was stuck at the back." 

"And of course Snape - I noticed you didn't mention him in your group of good looking wizards despite the fact that he's standing right at the front." 

She made a face in horror. "Oh please don't. The idea of anyone having his picture on their wall makes me feel ill." She shuddered as she looked at him. "You know, we should think about doing one of those pictures at one point. We'll have Harry, one of the better looking Weasley's - maybe Bill, Sirius, Remus, Neville, Seamus, you..." 

"Um - might I suggest that putting Seamus and Neville on a picture for the resistance might be a bit detrimental to them living since they are working for Snape?" Dean said with a shake of the head. "Women, you have to think about the practical side." 

She rolled her eyes. He always wanted to ruin her fun. "If you're going to be a spoil sport then you aren't getting to be on my picture." 

"However will I survive?" he asked, his voice heavy with sarcasm. "So, other than to make fun of the poster boys what's the problem?" 

She stood up and put her finger on a headline that read 'Mud-blood Ministry No More - All Mud-bloods fired from the Ministry.' "That's the problem." 

He read down the column and shook his head angrily. "This is unbelievable! That means Hermione - she'll be fired!" 

Lavender nodded her head sadly as she sat down. "Yes. And if Hannah's right, this is just the beginning which means that it won't just be her job that Hermione has to worry about. We're all going to be in trouble now." She reached over and touched the picture of the Ministry and whispered, "I've got a horrible feeling everything for the past year has just been the beginning and that it can only get worse." 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Considering it's content, Hermione thought, it was really a rather polite letter. It had every formality, it started with "Dear Miss Granger," and went on to say that they "Regret to inform" her that she needed to lose her job. It was perfectly civil considering the underlying message was "We don't want Mudbloods like you in the new Ministry" 

Hermione knew she shouldn't have been surprised - many people had warned her that taking a job in the Ministry of Magic was a bad move. They had warned her that the Ministry was corrupt and that any Muggle born witch or wizard that joined wouldn't last long. But Hermione hadn't listened. 

Why? Because somewhere inside of her, some part of her still had hope. She had graduated top of the school year, surely the Ministry would see that she was an asset? 

Apparently not. What Draco Malfoy had been saying for seven years rang true with the Ministry. She was worthless. Her 'dirty' blood rendered her useless to them. 

Hermione folded the letter up carefully and slipped it into the pocket of her robes. She felt tears start to rise up and she shook her head violently. _'Oh no,_' she thought. _'I won't let them make me cry.'_ She started to walk swiftly down the road in Diagon Alley, where the Owlery had been. She walked without seeing anything, all she knew was she had to go somewhere, anywhere that wasn't there. She would not give them the satisfaction of seeing her cry or stand there aimlessly. She had to be doing something and if that was only walking to clear her head then that's what she would do. As she walked, head down, thoughts racing she vaguely felt herself walk into people and mumbling apologies as though she had been programmed to do it. She couldn't think clearly through the fog in her head. Little voices in her head kept whispering about 'Mudbloods' and the 'New Ministry' until she could barely see straight. She'd worked hard for seven years and in the end it had been for nothing - it was going to come down to the suitability of her family after all. 

"Watch it, love!" 

"Mind where you're going!" 

Disgruntled calls came as she pushed her way though people, mumbling more and more apologies as she went. She had no idea where she was going or where she had walked when suddenly she felt herself walk straight into a person and stumbled backwards. 

"I'm _so_ sorry-" she began, but stopped when she saw who she had bumped into. "Oh, hi Parvati," she said as she gave her old roommate a weak smile. 

Parvati smiled as she looked at Hermione. "Hello, Hermione. Looks like I showed up right on time or who knows what you would have walked into. I figured you could use a friend right about now - which is why I'm standing in the middle of the street, letting you walk into me." 

"How did you know I was going to be here?" Hermione asked without thinking. 

"Being a Diviner does that," Parvati said with a smile as she linked arms with Hermione and guided her down the street. "And you always said it was a load of rubbish as well." 

"Oh, right, of course!" Hermione said, feeling profoundly stupid at forgetting something as important as Parvati's occupation. 

"I'm really sorry about you're job," Parvati said quietly as they fell into step with each other. "It's their loss and it won't be forever. You're too good to be working for them anyway - stupid Lucius Malfoy." 

Hermione closed her eyes briefly, she really did not want to discuss her humiliating job loss. It was true - she didn't want to work for Lucius Malfoy but, that really wasn't the point. She couldn't put it into words and that made it harder for her because she had always been able to put her feelings and arguments into words. But she wasn't even sure she could form coherent sentences on the subject to explain how she felt about it, just now. It was all so muddled in her head and she knew she had to change the subject. 

"Yes well, that doesn't really matter now," Hermione said with a sigh. "But tell me about your job! What's it like?" Hermione asked, trying to sound interested and cheery. 

Parvati turned to her and Hermione couldn't help but smile as Parvati's face erupted into a wide smile as she lowered her voice in an effort to sound like Madam Trewelany, who Parvati had idolised in school. "Oh, being a Diviner is amazing. You see," she began with a bounce in her step that betrayed the airy way she had her voice, "with me being a Diviner, I try and use my gift as a seer to help people with things that will happen to them in the future. Like this! I knew you would be here, and alone and I came and got you!" She pursed her lips then as she squinted and her voice returned to normal again. "It's a bit more complicated than that though...not everything you see is nice. It's very...difficult sometimes...very. But it's useful and the rewards are good - plus, I always get to see what the Quidditch scores will be - which I use to torment Seamus." 

Hermione nodded as Parvati continued to talk, but she wasn't really listening anymore. What was going to happen to all the Muggle borns now? Would they all loose their jobs and be thrown out of the wizarding community? Would something worse happen? She had visions of Death Eater's running through the streets grappling the bodies of Muggle borns above their heads - what if this was the beginning of a massacre? Who would help them? She pressed her eyes shut as she tried to drive the images out of her head. This was not something she wanted to consider and thinking about it made her head spin. 

Hermione suddenly snapped out of her thoughts as she noticed the silence surrounding her. She looked at Parvati and realised that she had stopped talking and, somehow, they had both stopped walking. She looked around and instead of being out on the cold alley, they had stepped into a tea room. Hermione felt her cheeks flush, she must have appeared so rude. 

"Parvati, I really don't mean to be rude, but I don't think I feel like tea at present." 

"Neither do I, but that's not why we're here," Parvati said with a smile. Hermione, however, simply stared at her in confusion. 

"Thenwhy are we here?" she asked slowly, fearing she had missed something when she had been lost in her thoughts. 

Parvati looked at Hermione and cocked her head to one side with an exaggerated sigh. "Well, way back before you zoned out on me you asked what I did as a Diviner and I said that I helped people with things that happened to them? Well, I figure I can't be much help to you but...well, I know someone who can. I mean, what's the point in being a Diviner if I can't ever do anything useful for a friend?" she smiled at Hermione as she turned to leave. "Have fun." 

Hermione stared after her, having no clue what she was talking about. She was about to call to her friend when Parvati turned back towards her, just as she reached the door to leave. Parvati rolled her eyes good-naturedly like she had a hundred times before in school and pointed to the corner of the tea room, where a man sat alone at a table. 

It was Ron. 

Hermione couldn't help it, she felt a grin break out on her face that very second. With a flustered "Thank you!" to Parvati, she rushed over to sit with Ron. 

"Hello, Hermione," Ron said with a grin as she sat down. "Fancy meeting you here." 

"I thought you weren't supposed to leave the-" Hermione lowered her voice to a whisper. "_hiding place_," she hissed as she sat down opposite him. 

"Cabin fever. Besides, when I get reports from a Diviner that isn't Trewelawny that my girlfriend needs me, there's no stopping me," Ron said with another grin. Hermione smiled back, she really owed Parvati for this. 

"I'mreally happy you did, you know, come to my rescue so to speak," she said quietly. "I got fired. Me! I...I know I shouldn't be surprised and that it's just...them and their stupid politics but...I can't help thinking. Am I a bad witch?" she asked finally. Desperate for the confirmation that would say that it wasn't anything to do with her. 

"Hermione, that's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard, and you know it. You're the best witch I know and you usually never let me forget it." Ron said with a shake of his head. "This whole thing has nothing to do with you. And you know that - deep down you have to know that. Because you are smart and you know how good you are." 

"Then why don't they want me? Does the fact that my parents are Muggles make me useless?" Hermione said, and she could feel the tears coming again, this time, she made no effort to stop them. 

"No! Listen, the fact that they've kicked you out because of that makes them the bad witches and wizards. They can see beyond their own stupid inbreeding. The fact that they don't see how incredible you are, that fact makes them not even worth thinking about," Ron said, taking her hand in his. "Besides...would you really want to work for them now, anyway? You're too good for them - they don't know how great you are. But I do. And because of that, I'm glad you don't work for them. They're bastards and they aren't good enough to polish your shoes." 

Hermione felt a feeling of appreciation as Ron spoke so honestly. How had she ever got so lucky? So she didn't have a job - she had a good family, good friends and, most importantly, she had Ron. They had each other and that was all that mattered at the moment. 

"Oh _Ron_," she said simply as she reached over and wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. "Thank you..." 

***** 

Seamus Finnigan looked out at the class full of faces all trained on him and felt his heart pound. What on earth had he let himself be talked into? Whose bright idea had this been because it certainly hadn't been his. No, he would never have willingly submitted to this torture. Never. 

"Um, Sir? We've all copied up the notes - aren't you going to show us how to do the charm?" 

He looked around his shoulder, expecting to see Flitwick standing there getting ready to answer the question before realising in fact that the girl in the Ravenclaw robes was actually addressing him. He had become a 'Sir' at some stage and he couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't been informed of this earlier. "Um...yes. Well, it's really...really simple. You just..." 

He felt his mouth turn dry as he raised his wand and tried to ignore the faces of the third years in front of him. "Well, what you have to do is...it's a left - right movement with your wrist before you make an upwards moving figure of eight and then say your charm. It's...important for your voice to be forceful or else you'll never get the object to hover and rotate. You can...try it now." 

He waited on the class to start and, as they all looked at him expectantly, he felt towards the back of his desk for support. This teaching malarkey had looked so much easier when he was at school. "Okay, you want to see it in action, I suppose?" 

Despite willing them to say 'no, it's okay you explained it so well that we can do it ourselves,' they all nodded their heads and sat back, waiting to see the charm in action. He lifted up the ball that was in front of him and set it on the desk as he tried to make himself remember that he could do this. He was a trained wizard who could do simple charms. He was a trained wizard who could teach this class. He may have felt horribly out of his depth but, when push came to shove, he could do it. 

He lifted his wand and did the appropriate movement before forcefully saying the charm. To his pleasure the ball lifted up off the desk before rotating slowly. He relaxed slightly before, to his horror, the ball went flying from the desk erratically and flew at speed across the classroom, narrowly missing students and breaking through a cabinet filled with bottles and figurines where it proceeded to smoke as the ball melted in on itself and omitted a slow whistle. He looked as the class emerged from below their desks, looked towards the ball and then towards him before bursting into laughter. 

He tried to keep his calm as he quickly dropped his wand and adopted a confident pose as he leaned against the desk and pointed to the ball as though that had been the desired result. "That...that would be an example of how not to do it. Obviously." 

A Slytherin boy from the back of the class rolled his eyes. "Obviously." 

Seamus looked at the class and prepared to give another example of, what he hoped would be, a successful rotating and levitating object, when the bell went. He had never been as happy to hear a sound in his life and quickly grabbed his wand and, after shouting instructions to the students ran from the room at speed, not really caring whether they heard him or not. He couldn't believe how badly his first class had went. Of all the bad things that he had imagined could happen, none of his worst nightmares had even come close. It was a Lockhart level of incompetence. He stopped as a new fear overtook him - what if he had a reputation like Lockhart on the basis of that one class? His reputation would never recover, he would never be taken seriously. He shook his head and decided not to think about it as it was far too horrifying to even consider and ran out of the building towards the greenhouse to see Neville Longbottom who he hoped had had a better day than he had. Unfortunately, he decided as he saw his fellow trainee walk towards him with his shoulders drooped and head bowed, he had a horrible feeling that his morning had been equally disastrous. 

"Neville!" Seamus began in despair. "I think I might have made a big mistake by agreeing to this. Dumbledore never told me to expect this." 

Neville nodded his head as he wiped his brow. "I think I might get fired. Professor Sprout had to come in and get the class to be quiet. I just...froze. I just stood there looking at them for about twenty minutes..." 

Seamus nodded his head as he put an arm around Neville's shoulder and they both began walking towards the school. "I ran before Flitwick could see what I'd done. I tried to teach them how to rotate a levitating object and ended up nearly taking their heads off and, if that wasn't bad enough, the ball ended up crashing into Flitwick's cabinet. The one with all his books and ornaments! A year learning how to teach this didn't really teach me anything..." 

Neville sighed. "And that was only the first class as well. A bunch of first years. I don't know why they thought I would be good at this. I mean it's their second day of school and I couldn't even handle them. I don't know why we were asked." 

"You and me both," Seamus said with a sigh as they walked into the hallway where a handful of third years snickered as they walked past. "It sounded like such a cushy number as well when Dumbledore suggested it." 

"That cushy number, Finnigan, is a fictional occurrence. Nothing is cushy in my school." 

Seamus stopped in his tracks and tried to keep his groan inaudible at the sound of the voice. "Yes, Professor Snape." 

The figure brushed past him and gave him a disgusted look. "Headmaster Snape, Finnigan. I see you both had an eventful morning? Perhaps you would both like to fill me in on it in my office?" 

Without waiting on a reply the imposing figure stormed off and climbed the stairs. Neville turned to Seamus and shook his head as he began following Snape. "Um, today isn't getting much better, is it?" 

Seamus groaned and followed dutifully. It really wasn't getting any better and the fact that they were about to be interrogated with Snape said it all. When they had agreed to train to work at the school, deep down Seamus had believed that the war would have been resolved before their training had finished and that they would have been working for Dumbledore. But it hadn't worked out like that. He had finished his training and the job at the school had come about like they had planned but, rather than Dumbledore being in charge and everything being fun, Snape was in charge and the atmosphere was completely different. He knew that they were there for a reason but he couldn't help but feel that Dumbledore had overestimated him and Neville when he had asked for their help. For one thing, Snape hated them. For another, they were Gryffindors. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Snape hated them for reasons that had absolutely nothing to do with them just being Gryffindors and thought they were incompetents. No, he thought as he walked to the entrance to the office, in hindsight the request to help the students at the school should have maybe went to people who were a bit more suited to the job, probably Ravenclaws who had the brains as well as that darker edge that would have appealed to a miserable sod like Snape. 

They climbed the stairs and Seamus looked mournfully at the walls. It looked so different from when he had been a student. So much had changed in a year. Whereas Dumbledore's office had always been warm and friendly this was now cold and intimidating. "It's like a dungeon away from the dungeon," Seamus whispered. "He must have been feeling homesick. I pity the poor students that have to come up here." 

"I would save your pity for yourself, Finnigan. After today's sorry performance you will need it." 

Busted. Seamus thought, as Snape slammed the door. It was just like being back at school and in potions when he would hear everything. And he had thought that he had got away from all that when he had finished his seven years. Apparently he had no such luck. 

"Sit down, I have news," Snape said. 

They sat down and looked across the desk at the former potions master. Why, of all the people it could have possibly been, did their boss have to be Snape? The answer was, of course, simple. The reason Snape was in charge was because he was in the Ministry's circle, albeit in disguise. And, he supposed, if anyone had to be in charge of the school it may as well have been the sadist that they knew as opposed to a new breed of Ministry personnel who would happily indulge in a massacre or ritual sacrifices or whatever else they did for fun. 

"Finnigan? If you are quite finished staring into space," Snape said irritably as he banged his hand on the desk. "I would like to get this over with before Professor Flitwick demands your resignation for the destruction of his classroom." 

"You...you both heard about that?" Seamus asked as he pulled at his robes. "Professor Flitwick as well?" 

"We hear about everything," Snape said. "You would both do well to remember that." 

"You know, in my defence - I was supposed to be supervised for the first month," Seamus said as he looked down at his hands. "The students just made me nervous..." 

"A fine quality to have in a teacher - it is a pity that they didn't teach you that when you were receiving your training," Snape said airily. "Nonetheless, this level of incompetence is only to be expected considering the two Gryffindors I was expected to work with. It is a good job that you are both under my supervision or else it could be disastrous for our efforts. Your incompetence could destroy years of planning in one swoop. Typical Gyffindors...known more for your inadequacies than your brains. I should have chosen two wizards off the street, they would have done a better job." 

Seamus looked at Neville who looked every inch the frightened schoolboy he had been in countless Potions classes as he listened to Snape. Seamus shook his head as he turned away from him and back towards the older man. He wasn't going to let Snape intimidate them. So they had made one mistake, it wasn't as though they had carried around signs announcing they were against the Ministry. "Yeah well, it's not like you could've asked any Slytherins to help considering their career choices, is it? How many of them are working in the Ministry now?" 

"Don't get impudent with me, boy. I know full well where the Slytherins are. Be that as it may, they would still be able to walk into a class and teach it without blowing it up or needing thirty minutes before they could talk," Snape said quietly before shaking his head. "And as much as I would enjoy talking about this further with you, we do have more pressing problems to discuss." 

Neville sat up this as Snape sat back in his chair and looked at them. "Tonight, at dinner, I shall be reading a speech composed for me by the Ministry. After I read it I shall require you both to discreetly assure the Muggle born students of their safety while they are at the school, as no doubt they shall be a little...nervous...when they hear it." 

"What does it say?" Seamus asked as he looked at Neville who was now sitting up straight. "I mean, it can't be that bad, can it?" 

Snape stood and slid a sheet of paper over towards them, which Neville took and held so he and Seamus could both read it. Seamus felt his anger rise as he read it over and as he looked up at Snape he couldn't help but notice the man actually looked worried as he answered. "No, it's worse." 

Seamus looked at the sheet of paper as Neville stared at it in disbelief before putting it on the desk. "Guess this is it, then." 

"Guess it is," Seamus said quietly as he tried to train his thoughts on the students and away from Dean and Parvati and his friends who would be affected in the real world. 

"There is no guessing. This is what you've been trained for," Snape said as he gathered his cloak up. "And you will do it well. Now, leave - you have class to get to and I expect you to get through it rather more successfully than you did earlier." 

They got up and walked to the door and down the steps as Seamus whispered. "As far as pep talks went, that one really sucked. Don't you think?" 

Neville nodded. "A bit different from Dumbledore. What are we going to do...I mean about tonight? I mean, do we tell someone or...or not? I'm not really sure what we're supposed to do." 

Seamus shook his head as he looked at Neville. He wished he knew but the truth was, he was trying not to think about it. "I...I'm not sure. I think...I think the best thing is to be as normal as possible and then...do whatever we can after it happens. Don't you think?" 

The bell went and Neville shook his head as he walked towards the door leading to the courtyard. "I'm not sure what I think. I think...I think I need to concentrate on not getting fired before tonight so that I'll be here to hear it." 

Seamus nodded as he walked past Neville towards the Charms corridor. "That sounds like a plan. I'll see you later, if Flitwick hasn't killed me. If he has, tell Parvati I love her and tell Dean that he owes me twenty galleons because he was wrong when he said working for Snape wouldn't kill me." 

Neville smiled as he acknowledged Seamus before looking at his watch and running towards the greenhouse. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

"And it's Bladger to Hobbs, with a quick deflection of the Quaffle back to Kings, who neatly knocks it in the rings, England score." Harry commentated dully, as he bent further over the miniature Quidditch game ("England Verses Germany, with free scorecard, only ten sickles!") 

Harry was waiting for Ron to get back from going to see Hermione, and was having a bit of trouble amusing himself. Life in hiding was never fun at the best of times, but without Ron to crack jokes in his ear, it was practically un-bearable. He glanced at his watch again, Ron had left two hours ago, he really should be back by now. It may have only been two hours but it felt like more - but that was the norm in this place. He groaned and looked at his watch again, trying to force the hands to move faster - not that it did any good. Why couldn't he find a time turner when he needed one? He sighed again and looked at the watch and gave a small smile in spite of himself. It had once belonged to his Dad, and it had been a gift from Remus and Sirius on his graduation. Originally, his Mum had gave it to his Dad and she had engraved it on the back with the words - 

_"To James, _

_For now and forever (you can time that!)_

_Love Lily"_

Harry smiled when he thought of it. It made him feel closer to them - that he had an insight into what they would be like had they lived. They clearly loved each other more than anything and that made him happy - at least they had experienced that before they died. That was a blessing. He just wondered if he would ever find the same someday. Would he be able to find someone who he could invisage loving forever, and who would love him the same? He hoped so, but he was beginning to have his doubts especially since he hadn't been out in the real world in months! 

Harry returned to his miniature Quidditch game, a frown etched along his face. He was so bored and all he could do was sit here playing a table-top Quidditch game that would never be anything but a cheap imitation of the real thing. He dropped his head down on the table and banged it a few times before looking back at the game. What he would give to be out in the fresh air, with the wind blowing against his face as he dived for the snitch, and the pure sense of euphoria as his fingers held the tiny gold ball aloft. It felt like he hadn't felt like that for a lifetime. He hadn't played since the final game in Hogwarts - which was over a year ago! He could still remember the game vividly (because he had relived it many times in his head since) - it had been between Slytherin and Gryffindor and it had been the most intense game he had ever played on. Everyone, at that point, knew that the war was brewing and which side the two teams were on. Seven years of hatred between the two houses shined through and practically everyone from both teams had to go to the Hospital wing after the match. But Gryffindor had won - and that had been the important thing. In the end Gryffindor had beaten Slytherin, and he had beaten Malfoy and that let them know the way things would always turn out - the right team would always win in the end. It was symbolic for Harry. That match felt like a lifetime ago. 

Harry closed his eyes and thought of that moment, his hands closing over the golden snitch, the hatred on Draco Malfoy's face was so clear it was almost haunting. The cheers so deafening Harry thought his ears would never stop ringing. Harry closed his eyes and tried to travel back there mentally, to hear the crowd chanting his name. 

"Bit early in the day for a nap isn't it?" Harry's eyes snapped open at once and saw Ginny in front of him where she had taken the seat opposite him, and was looking over the miniature game that was between them on a small table. 

"Winning?" she asked. 

"It could go either way," he said with a grin, glad for the company. 

"You looked sort of sad so I thought I'd see if anything was up," Ginny said, leaning back in her chair and surveying Harry. 

"I'm fine- more bored than anything else really. What about you? This can't be how you imagined spending the first few months of freedom after graduating Hogwarts, can it?" Harry asked, grateful for the company. A few years ago he would never have been able to sit down with Ginny and talk like this, but he was glad now that they had moved on from the awkwardness. She made a good friend and was really responsible for helping to keep him sane when Ron and Hermione disappeared off together, doing things he really didn't want to think about. 

"Oh, it's not so bad. After all, I'm getting training from some of the best wizards and witches around down here. I mean, sometimes it's a bit stuffy, but Dumbeldore mentioned the other day he might send me on an assignment out in the open. To finally get out in the big bad world, that'd be good." Harry couldn't conceal his envy at her getting the chance to see the world and help people, instead of being cooped up in this place. 

"You're so lucky! What would you been doing?" he asked, trying to keep the envious tones out of his voice. "Would it be for a while? Could you go flying?" 

She gave a laugh as she shrugged her shoulders. "He didn't tell me, he just said if I was given 

the option would I say yes? Which I of course did. It'll be great to be actually doing something, you know?" 

Oh, Harry knew. 

"Oi, Sirius!" he said, calling his godfather over to him from where he stood a few feet away discussing something with Remus Lupin and Bill Weasley. 

"What is it Harry?" Sirius said, coming over to where Ginny and Harry sat. 

"I just wanted to ask, what are the chances of me being able to go somewhere and have a fly on my broom?" Harry asked earnestly. 

Sirius blinked and stared at his godson blankly 

"You're not serious?" Sirius asked, Harry was taken aback. "[i]You[/i] want to go out somewhere? You? You're not really, really serious, are you?" 

"I'm deadly serious!" he exclaimed, with a completely straight face. Sirius looked at him blankly for another moment, before breaking out into laughter. Harry frowned, he didn't see what was so funny. But Sirius clearly found something hilarious, as he was leaning on Harry's chair to support himself. 

"Hey, you two!" he managed to say to Remus and Bill, beckoning them over, they came over at looked expectantly at Sirius. 

"Tell them what you told me." Sirius struggled to say, still laughing. Harry did and was surprised to see them start to laugh as well, what was so funny? Honestly. 

Harry turned to Ginny, hoping to find some support, but to his annoyance Ginny seemed to be trying hard not to break into laughter herself. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

"I suppose Lucius Malfoy will want to promote Draco again, we could run an article about that, what do you think? Maybe about the in-justice and corruption of it?" Lavender was saying as Dean nodded vaguely and mumbled an agreement, not really sure what he was agreeing to but doing it anyway. 

"You're worried about her, aren't you?" Lavender asked, her voice sounding as if she already knew the answer to the question, which, Dean reflected, she probably did. That was the thing about spending so much time with Lavender Brown, she got to know what you were thinking with frustrating ease. What with all the time they'd spent together working on the paper, Dean was starting to feel quite predictable, which he kinda hoped he wasn't - predictable did equate to boring after all, and he wanted to be a man of mystery and intrigue. Yet, somehow this man of mystery still kept getting sussed out by the brunnette in front of him. How Neville Longbottom managed to keep anything to himself was beyond him. 

"Maybe. Perhaps. Yes, oh bloody hell, I'm getting really pathetic aren't I? Sorry Lav, seriously, someone needs to slap me when I get like this," Dean said apologetically. "Maybe not physically slap me of course, but mentally - so don't be getting any ideas." 

"Moi? Slap you? I do value my life thank you very much - a certain blonde would kill me," she said with a smile as she sat down next to him. "I'm sure she'll be fine. She knows what she's doing. She's smart. She'll be fine." 

Dean groaned and nodded his head. "I know, I just...I worry, you know? I'm sorry, you always get this..." 

"No, no it's okay." Lavender told him, allowing a smile as she took a deep breath and turned her gaze away from him. "I actually get it. You know, the whole feeling about being nervous and scared and terrified that something will happen. It's stupid, and irrational and everything but...I'm sort ofworried about Neville." 

Dean nodded his head as Lavender paused for a secong before continuing quietly. He sometimes forgot that it wasn't just him that was going through this situation - there were countless other wizards and witches who had to do the same thing, including Lavender and Neville. 

"Which I know is really stupid as he's at the school and it's not like he's facing some of the most evil bastards every day like Hannah buthe's working with Snape and Snape has always hated him and been mean to him. I'm just worried that..." Lavender trailed off with a shaky laugh. "But, you know, I don't even know what I'm worried about! I just *know* something bad is going to happen soon and even though I know Neville can look after himself, I just get so worried that he'll do something really stupid and get hurt. It hurts too much to think that the first I would hear of that would be in an owl..." she finished, her head bowed and her tone quiet. Dean let her sit with her thoughts for a moment, not really sure what would be the best thing to say. He knew as well as anyone how empty words were in the world they were living in - they didn't carry any weight and as a result, any throw away statement would sound contrived and meaningless. He took his friends hand and gave it a small squeeze as he felt himself smile - if someone had told Lavender a few years ago she'd feel so strongly for Neville Longbottom she'd have laughed. She probably didn't even consider Neville as anything but an adorable friend at that point, but war had changed things like wars always changed things. It had changed Hogwarts and gradually, as the Gryffindors spent more time together she had developed feelings for Neville. He may have very well been blundering, lacking confidence and insecure, but he was also kind, brave and loyal and when it counted, these qualities shone though. They worked - against all the odds, those two worked. A bit like him and Hannah. He shook his head and sat up abruptly as he nudged her to get her attention. 

"Okay, enough of the wallowing in our own pathetic little mini angst-ridden love-lives - I have two things to say," Dean said with a grin on his face as he looked at her. 

"Firstly, we're both nutters as Neville and Hannah will be fine! They're both amazing at what they do - and would be less than amused to see us sitting here, doubting their abilities. Hannah is a smart cookie and she can handle any of the idiots in that place with her eyes closed. As for Neville - Snape would never do anything to Neville now - not because he likes him, but because he has to show some respect now Neville is a teacher. Wouldn't do for the headmaster to go undermining the teacher he hired, would it? He'll just need to deal with the fact that he has two Gryffindors on staff and be the bigger man and put aside any petty problems he has. He may even kurb his snidey comments in the interests of morale..." 

Lavender raised her eyebrows. "Snape putting aside snide comments? Yeah that'll happen in the next few Never's. You really are deluded if you think that he gives a toss about morale." 

"You never know...he might be a reformed character. The stress of the job might be mellowing him out..." 

"Poor Dean," Lavender giggled as she patted his head condescenidingly. "So young, so naive...so stupid." 

Dean smiled but ignored her. "My second point - before I was so rudely interupted, is - we have an owl." He finished, he was right about that too, a big, snooty looking white owl was hovering in front of them, it gave a disgruntled hoot as if it knew it had just been mentioned. 

"Recognise it?" Dean asked as he stroked the owl's head. 

"Yeah, but I don't know what from," Lavender said with a frown as she tried to place the owl. 

"Hey, maybe it's from Neville! Or Hannah!" Dean leant over eagerly to pick up the letter from owl's foot but before he could Lavender let out a small shriek. 

"Wait a second that- that's a Ministry owl!" The owl hooted as if to and an affirmation to this, Dean and Lavender looked at each other; horror stuck. 

"It could be here to notify us that the Ministry's going to arrest us for disobeying them." Dean hissed, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. Well, that would have been a nice twist of fate - there they were, worrying about their partners when all the time it was them that was going to get arrested. "This is not good!" 

Lavender nodded, the colour draining from her face as she looked at the owl. Dean felt his mouth turn dry as he looked around the office to see more than five other owls sitting at various desks, surrounded by ashen faces. He turned back to Lavender who was looking at the owl like it was going to explode. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder as she took a deep breath and whispered. "Whatever we do, we can't ever tell them where the others are - no matter what. D...deal?" Lavender asked, her voice shaky as she looked at him. He nodded his head and gave her a smile. 

"No matter what." 

She nodded her head and forced a smile on her face as she reached over, with trembling hands and took the parchment from the owl. She took a deep breath, opened it and held it up so they could both read it. 

_"All press are requested to attend a meeting where a statement shall be read at the Ministry of Magic,_

__

__

_On Request of the Minister"_

Dean let a breath out he wasn't even aware he had been holding as he turned to her. "Should I be happy that we're not arrested, or scared because they want us at their press conference?" 

Lavender shook her head as she sat the parchment down and brought a hand to her head. "I think you were right when you said that this isn't good. I have a horrible feeling about this..." 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Hannah tried to keep her mind focused on the piles of paperwork in front of her yet, against her will, her eyes seemed to be getting dragged out of the window where she could see the sun. The truth was, working in the Ministry had never been what she would call a 'fulfilling' career choice but, she had gave up on the naive dream of enjoying what you did long ago when she had agreed to work at the Ministry. It had seemed like such a good idea when she had been asked to help out but, in hindsight, it had been a momentous error of judgement on her part. She wasn't psychologically fit enough to handle what she was expected to do. She couldn't switch off her emotions and it got to her. The simple truth was that the only way she kept sane was by dreaming her way out of that room, out of the building, out of the place where the air was filled with hatred and her mirky desk was filled with papers explaining why one person was inferior to another. The world she dreamed up was real, and safe and she could almost feel the fresh air blowing on her face. She could almost smell the hint of perfume. She could almost feel the touch of Dean's lips on the back of her neck. In her world, in her hideaway, she could feel it all and she liked it. She needed it. She needed that out from reality and when she looked out the window, she had it. And that was the only way she could be sure of staying herself despite doing what she did. In her world she could remember who she really was when she wasn't a spy, pretending that what was happening was acceptable. In her world, she was happy. 

*Thwapp!* 

In the real world, however, she wasn't so lucky, she thought as she spun around to see Percy Weasley standing behind her. Percy Weasley was her boss, not only her boss but in a lot of ways, he was her mentor. He was teaching her how to be a passable spy and not get caught and, despite the fact that he had an attitude problem, he was very good at what he did. She knew that the only reason she was able to keep the masquerade up was because of his example and advice and she appreciated it. She still wasn't entirely sure if she liked him and his attitude, but she respected him and his opinions. She trusted him to keep her alive and, despite his abrupt nature, she could see that he cared about things and in his own, weird way, he cared about her. "Percy..." 

"Mr Weasley in the office, Abbott," he said as he gave her a strange look. 

She shifted and flinched. He didn't look happy at all and that was never a good thing especially as she had the distinct feeling that the reason he wasn't happy was because of something she had done. "Sorry, um...can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? You...you want me to type something up or...or something?" 

He walked over to his desk and sat down without taking his eyes off her. She felt as though she was shrinking in size by the second. No doubt if this kept up she would be about an inch tall by the time he got around to telling her what she had done. "I want you to tell me what you did last night. Where were you?" 

She closed her eyes and tried to think of the appropriate believable lie to hide the fact that she had broken the rules. "I...I went for a walk and then I went...I went home." 

He nodded his head, without taking his gaze off her as he pushed his glasses up on his nose. "And on your 'walk' - did you go anywhere interesting? Meet anyone?" 

She shook her head as she turned away from him. She knew her cheeks were beginning to burn in a physical manifestation of her guilt but she had to at least try and prevent him from seeing. "Um...no. I didn't." 

"Liar!" he shouted as he stood and stormed over to her. "You think you can sit there and lie to me, Abbott? I know where you were, I know who you were with because I followed you!" 

Her eyes widened in horror - she had been so careful! "But..." 

"But nothing! You think we're playing a game here? You think that I will be the only one following you in the coming weeks and months? You think that you can get away with this?" She opened her mouth to answer but before she could he had bent down lower to her and shook his head. "No! You know why? Because you didn't think! You didn't think about the consequences of your actions because you think your little relationship is more important, don't you? Don't you?" 

She shook her head and felt her eyes fill with tears as she looked at the angry red-haired man in front of her. She had never seen him so angry before. He had always been intense, but never like that. "I'm sorry...really." 

He brought a hand up to his eyes and rubbed them before turning back to her, his voice quieter and his gaze softer. He looked tired and scared and disappointed and she felt worse as she looked at him. "If you aren't going to take this seriously then you shouldn't be here. This isn't just your life you are jeopardising anymore, Hannah. This is serious - we aren't playing here. They hate me, they hate you, and the only reason we have been given this chance despite our past relationships is because Zabini junior enjoyed the odd dalliance with Muggle borns at school. But he was a Slytherin, we weren't and they don't trust any of us. If you aren't careful everything will be ruined. I have given up everything to do this," he began as he turned away from her. "Everything. And you are going to make it all for nothing with your selfishness. Do you have any idea how many people are relying on us to do this job well?" 

She nodded her head as she looked at her hands guiltily. Nineteen years old and she was still being talked to like she was a schoolgirl. Being made to feel like a child who was in trouble. But this feeling was worse. For some reason, this was infinitely worse. Maybe because she knew she was wrong. Maybe because she knew how close she was to being caught. Maybe because she really believed him when he said he had given up everything. 

"The answer you are looking for, I believe, is everyone. Everyone is relying on us to do this job and we will do it well or we will die trying. It's that simple. Now, Hufflepuffs may think that they can get away with things, that no one else would notice them. You want to know something? You're not a Hufflepuff anymore - everyone notices you. You aren't invisible anymore. You better get your act together because this job is difficult enough without you doing your best to get us killed. Do you understand me?" 

She nodded her head as she tried to avoid his gaze, his cold, hard eyes looking through her. What he was saying made sense but he couldn't possibly know how hard it was for her. She needed that contact with people, she needed that contact with Dean. She couldn't be like him and throw herself into her work. She needed more. "Yes, Sir. I just...it's hard." 

He straightened up and squared his shoulders before walking to the door. "Of course it's hard - if it wasn't everyone would be able to do it," he whispered as he put his hand on the door handle before turning and looking at her. "What you have to remember is, our lives aren't ours anymore. We can't do what we want to do, we can't see who we want to see and we certainly can't date who we want to date - it's just not possible. The important thing is keeping up the illusion and we have to do that by whatever means necessary. And that means prioritising and giving up anything that jeopardises us." 

"I can't." 

"No, you can and you will," he said as he opened the door. "If you don't you will be signing all of our death warrants. If you still think this is a game, read that file and think about why we're doing this. If you're still not convinced that what we're doing is worth the sacrifice then leave before you jeopardise us anymore. But, if you read that and are convinced, then I'll expect to see you on the steps to hear the official announcement. I know it's hard, but it's right and maybe you'll realise it now." 

With that he disappeared and slammed the door behind him. She flinched at the noise before bending over and putting her head in her hands. How could she have been so stupid as to get caught? How could she have allowed herself to get into that situation in the first place? She had never wanted this - never. Why then was she here? She never asked for this job. Why then...why was this happening? 

It was happening because she had been stupid enough to help out Dumbledore when he had asked. He had asked and she had said yes. He had made it sound so important, like she was so important. Like she could make a difference. Like she could help. She hadn't wanted it, but he had asked her as though lives depended on her doing it. And she had said yes. 

He of course knew what she would decide. The desire to save lives and not let anyone down would always make her take the job, no matter how badly her instincts told her not to and now look at her. Look at what she was being asked to do. It wasn't bad enough that she had to pretend to enjoy her job, that she had to pretend to like the people who spouted their pure-blooded superior drivel at every opportunity, she now had to give up her friends and everything that kept her sane. That hadn't been part of the deal. 

She rubbed her eyes and grabbed the file that Percy had gave her and opened it and gave a low humourless laugh as she looked at the pages of paper, filled with photos, and names and histories and addresses and dates. Nameless wizards who had now become the Ministry's focus. Nameless people who had no idea about what was happening next. When they had made her take the job they hadn't told her she'd have to do this and the only way she could keep from crying was to laugh. No wonder Percy was always so bitter. 

She closed the file up and grabbed her cloak from her chair and walked over to the mirror and tried to compose herself. "Stupid Hannah, you have no way out. So what are you going to do now? Run? Cower? Fight?" 

She ran her hands through her blonde hair before reaching behind her and fastening it high on her head. She rubbed her eyes and reached into her pocket and pulled out a tube of mascara and applied it before reaching in and pulling out a tube of lipstick. She put the dark shade on her lips and shook her head. She could hardly recognise herself and maybe that was what she needed. Maybe she needed that disguise to help stop the real Hannah being changed. She took a deep breath as she grabbed the folder and looked severely in the mirror. She wouldn't run, as much as she wanted to. She had a job and it was important and she could do it. "You can do it. You have to do it." 

There was a chap at the door and before she had a chance to turn around a young wizard stuck his head through towards her. "Ms Abbott? Mr Weasley said that if you're staying you should come down now, because everyone is being gathered." 

She nodded her head and turned around and gave a smile at the wizard. "I'm just coming, Mark. Tell Mr Weasley not to worry, I won't let him down." 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

"No, no, mine was worse," Seamus Finnigan claimed, as he enthusiastically stirred his cup of tea with one hand. "In fact it was such a bad day that I may have to swap this cup of tea for something a bit stronger after dinner. The word disaster was apparently coined to describe my first day in the teaching profession." 

"Oh, really? Worse than letting a first year get bitten by a potentially poisonous plant? Because I don't think you nearly killed anyone and if you did I really want to hear it," Neville challenged him, grinning at his friend as they sat in a corner of the staff room, thanking Merlin that the first day was finally over. Seamus was finally feeling more like his old self after a day of hiding from Flitwick and avoiding doing anything more complex than levitating charms with any of his classes. He had never thought he would be more greatful to hear the final bell of the day than he had today and he was happily exchanging the first day horror stories over tea and biscuits with the equally thankful Neville Longbottom. 

"My lesson was going fine, I was joking around with this third year boy - generally having a bit of a laugh for once. I was actually starting to think that the whole teaching lark was pretty easy because it was all going fine at that point. So I'm standing there, happy as Larry not noticing this other lad wanted some help with his charm and waving his hand manically in the air shouting, "Sir!" to get my attention. And what happens? I take no bloody notice! The shouting and the waving didn't seem to register that he was waving and shouting for me - I thought he must be talking to Flitwick! The poor boy had to come over and prod me. Which, may I add he did none too gently," Seamus said with a rub at his arm as Neville snorted and both men collapsed into laughter. 

"I know what you mean though," Neville said after their laughter subsided. "It's so strange thinking that we're...we're in charge. We're like McGonagall and Sinistra..." 

"Or in my case Lockhart..." Seamus said with a wink. "All this power - I kinda like it. I got to give points out today and had to remind myself not to just give them out to the Gryffindors." 

Neville nodded. "It's a bit tempting to just go '15 points to Gryffindor' and '10 points from Slytherin', isn't it? But then I'd feel bad..." 

"Snape never felt bad - he used to take points from me and Dean just for looking at each other in class." 

"To be fair though - you two were usually rolling your eyes at him." 

Seamus grinned. "He was an evil bastard to all the Gryffindors though - he just wanted to piss us off at every available opportunity. 'Finnigan, 5 points from Gryffindor because you dropped a spot of potion on your desk!'" Seamus said in his best Snape voice. 

Neville shuddered. "He hated me - I don't know how many times he threatened to make me feed my potion to Trevor just because he knew I'd got it wrong." 

"That's a bad case of the power getting to his head - that could be you in a few years time, Neville. The name Longbottom could soon become as feared as Snape's," Seamus said with a nudge at Neville as he tried to fight his laughter at the mere suggestion that Neville would ever be anything remotely feared. 

"It's so odd being back here, and as a teacher!" Neville said as he looked around the staff room, almost dumbfounded. "I feel like a first year waiting for Peeves to get scolded for being clumsy by a teacher, but so much has changed." 

"We've grown a few feet, that's for sure! I'm sure I was never as short as all these little 'uns that are scampering around here," Seamus said as Neville laughed. 

"I remember always feeling so short next to Ron," Neville reminisced. "It was the tallness and the red-hair - for the first two days I thought he would want to beat me up or something so I tried not to talk to him." 

"Him and Harry, they were like little and large! Remember back in the day when all Ron would worry about was if the Canons were going to win or not." 

"Hard to imagine," Neville admitted, obviously thinking of the worry they were all now carrying on their shoulders. Neville sighed as he glanced down at then back at Seamus, not smiling anymore. "Are you worried about the announcement?" he asked. 

Seamus's expression instantly sobered. It wasn't that he had forgotten about the announcement, he just didn't want to think about it - it was easier to pretend it wasn't going to happen than it was to get his head around the Ministry's latest dirty trick was. "I don't know what it'll be like, having to tell the students all this rubbish. I hope they know we'd never mean it," Seamus said. "I hope they realise that we would never buy into that rubbish." 

"Imagine, us saying that we didn't think people like Dean and Hermione were worthy of going to Hogwarts. Its just sostupid," Neville said, knowing that the word "stupid" could never sum up what it was. Seamus simply shook his head. There wasn't really any words to describe what the situation was. 

"Did you ever think it would come to this so soon?" Neville asked Seamus after a pause. 

Seamus took a moment to think before he answered. "I know it sounds odd but ever since, you know, graduation, I've been waiting for something like this to happen. That speech Dumbledore gave, if it was as if he knew this was going to happen," Seamus explained. 

"Knowing him, he probably did." Neville said, his voice full of awe for his former headmaster and his hero. 

"I just hope," Seamus said, stopping to consider for a second. "I just hope it doesn't last forever," he finished. The two new teachers sat in silence, pondering this prospect, when a nervous knock sounded on the door of the staff room. 

Seamus looked at Neville and grinned. "I suppose that would be for one of us then?" 

"Come in," Neville called across the empty common room, save Seamus and himself. 

"Um, hi Professors." Came a voice, and a young boy bearing a Gryffindor badge crept into the room, looking very nervous to be in the staff room. Seamus recognized him and tried to place him, then it clicked into place when the boy smiled at them. 

"Dennis Creevy, am I right?" Seamus asked. Dennis nodded shyly before his face broke out into that trademarked Creevy grin that he shared with his older brother, Colin. 

"How are you? How's your brother Colin?" Seamus asked, He had really liked Colin when they were at school with him. He was friendly, enthusiastic, funny and he had a knack for winding up Harry that was second to none and it had always been amusing to see Harry have to come up with new and unique ways of telling Colin to sod off without it actually sounding like he was doing it. 

"Oh, he's okay! He's" Dennis paused and lowered his voice. "You know...busy...with..." Dennis gave a cough as he looked around nervously before whispering almost inaudibly. "Helping out at the underground newspaper. He's doing us all proud. Although my Mum and Dad are going a bit weird because of it - they want him back home." 

Seamus and Neville nodded, understanding that Dennis needed to lower his voice, as the reporters working for the underground paper had to be very careful for their identity not to be discovered. 

"There's a few people in that situation," Seamus said. "Dean's dad actually got him a job and a flat to stay in just to try and get him home, not that it did any good. Good for Colin," Seamus said, admiration in his voice. "What can we help you with, Dennis?" Seamus asked, hoping that it wouldn't be anything too strenuous, he was knackered after his first day. 

"I just wanted to welcome you, I think you'll both make excellent teachers. Mrs Sprout was always going on about how you were her star pupil, Neville." Neville blushed deeply as Dennis finished. "Er-I mean, Mr Longbottom, of course." Dennis corrected, with an apologetic grin. "Sorry - it's still weird to think of you two as anything other than a few years older than me." 

"It's okay," Neville said, managing to return to his normal colour. "It's still hard for us to remember that we don't live in the Gryffindor tower anymore." 

"So, how are you finding Hogwarts without your brother? Still managing to fall in lakes and the such?" Seamus asked, referring to the time Dennis first came to Hogwarts, and had to be helped out of the lake by the friendly giant squid. 

"I'm still making a fool of myself wherever I go, yeah," Dennis said with a grin as he ran a hand through his head as Neville and Seamus stood and began walking with Dennis out the door. "But, I'm a prefect so I get to pretend that I mean it when I fall flat on my face and people don't laugh as much when they know I can take points of them. Having power is good!" 

The two teachers laughed as they looked at each other and Seamus gave Neville a wink as he put his hand on Dennis's shoulder. "Ah Neville, I think your safe - I think we've got our Snape in training right here with Mr Creevy." 

Dennis looked at the pair of them with a confused expression before shrugging his shoulders and launching off into another conversation. Seamus looked at Neville and the pair of them smiled as the young fifth year babbled on. Maybe this teaching thing wasn't as bad as they had actually thought it was afterall. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Hermione looked wearily at the entrance to the hiding place that had become home to Ron, Harry and all the others vulnerable to attack by the Ministry. It was a good place that Dumbledore had found for them and although she doubted it would be large enough for their needs in the long term, in the short term it was more than adequate. As an 'underground' movement she doubted anyone had expected it to be quite as literal but sure enough, there they were in an underground city, complete with buildings and streets directly underneath a street. No one could have believed that they had the audacity to stay within the Ministry's reach yet, there they were. Hidden underneath their noses and in plain site. Still, as ingenious as the place was, it was still a hiding place. It kept you safe but it stopped you living and she knew it was starting to get to Harry who didn't have the same luxury that Ron had of getting out on occasion. 

"Hermione? You coming?" 

She nodded her head and followed Ron in as he whispered the charm that allowed the gate to open up. She waited as he put the ward up again before letting him guide her in. As soon as they travelled a few hundred yards in darkness she saw the lights burning, telling her where everyone was. 

"Well, that's us back home, Hermione," Ron said as he put his hand up to wave to Harry, who was polishing his broom by the gate, waiting on them. 

"You both took your time," Harry said as he walked over to them. "I've been waiting for ages." 

Ron looked down and gave a small smile. "Um...we got distracted." 

Harry rolled his eyes with a smile as he looked at them. "Oh, I might have known. Well, while you two were off having a good time we've got news. The Ministry is making an announcement tonight...Lavender got a letter and Snape has been talking to Dumbledore all afternoon about it. It looks like it's going to be pretty big. Well, big enough - they were talking about opening up all the buildings in here and getting the whole place functioning as opposed to the one building we've been in." 

They walked towards the building with lights blazing in the window as they talked. 

"They want to make it an actual city? Why?" Hermione asked. 

Harry shook his head. "I don't know, I just over heard them. They've been whispering all day but haven't told us anything. I thought it might be down to this speech but I don't know." 

Ron shook his head. "They are probably just missing the publicity. It'll be to say the Ministry is now a Pure-blooded organisation or something. Nothing we didn't know already," he said as he opened the door and walked over towards his mum and dad. "It's nothing. It will be fine." 

"You think he believes that or do you think he's just trying to make us feel better?" Harry asked quietly. 

Hermione shook her head, she didn't believe for a second that the speech was about what Ron thought it was and deep down she knew what they were going to say. It was the natural progression of what had happened to her that morning and it would change everything, for everyone. She had read about this happening before. Muggle history books were full of wars where one group were persecuted - first their jobs went, then their homes. If Muggle borns couldn't work in the wizarding world anymore it made sense to her than they would no longer be allowed to live in it. It was natural, and logical and try as she might to deny it, it was scary. Terrifying even. If she couldn't live in the open, if she had to hide and cower and let someone else fight her battles...it wasn't worth thinking about. She had to be able to fight. She had to be useful. She couldn't live like Ron, and Harry or any of the others. She had to be doing something. She had to be useful and she knew she couldn't be useful when she was hiding under ground. She would go crazy if she was made to live here in the shadows. 

"Hermione?" Harry said as he put his arm around her shoulder. "I know exactly what you're thinking. I did Muggle history at school before I went to Hogwarts and I figure you're trying to find a pattern between what happened then and what's happening now - but this isn't the same. And even if it is, you think I'm going to sit back and let anything happened to my best friend? No way. I mean, this job has to have perks somewhere and I'll make sure you're okay. It'll be okay. Trust me." 

She smiled and leant in close to Harry. He really believed what he was saying, or he really wanted to believe it. He knew as well as she did that the perks of his job in this war weren't beneficial to anyone but she knew it helped him to cope when he believed that he could protect the people he cared about. And he cared about her, and he would say and do anything to make her feel better, or less scared, even if it was a complete lie. And she loved him for that. "Of course I trust you, Harry. I can't say the same about the Ministry, though." 

"Hey," he sighed and leant down to her ear as they walked over towards the others, gathered around the fireplace, waiting on word. "Who cares about them. It's not going to change anything for us. It's not like it's anything new, you know. We've been targets since we started school. Well, I've been a target and I kinda made you targets because of it..." He looked down guiltily at his feet then. "But, what I mean is - we're used to being careful and this isn't any different. It'll be okay." 

She nodded and forced herself to smile. What he was saying was true, of course. What was happening wouldn't really affect them. Harry had grown up in hiding, after all. And, as anyone who was linked to Harry had been a target for years it really wasn't anything new to be careful. But, it was new to hide from them. It was new to have to hide, not because of who she was friends with, but because of who her parents were. It was hard to explain that to anyone. Harry was a pure blood, Ron was a Pure-blood, Sirius, Remus, Lavender, Parvati, Ginny...none of them understood. It wasn't anything new to be a target, but it was new to feel helpless and that was something she wouldn't let herself feel. She was a lot of things, but never helpless. "I know it'll be okay, Harry - we can handle whatever they throw at us." 

Harry nodded as they arrived beside the others. "That we can." 

She looked up and saw the tense faces of Arthur, Molly and Bill as they waited on Dumbledore before turning to look at Ginny and Ron who were now arguing about something or other. She smiled and looked at her friends. They couldn't possibly know how different things would be after tonight, but no matter what, she would handle whatever it was. She was stronger than anything the Ministry threw at her. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Hannah stood on the steps with her shoulders back and her chin held high beside Percy as she watched Lucius Malfoy walk towards the front of the steps. She turned her head slightly towards the gathered crowd and noticed Lavender and Dean standing there, along with countless other members of the wizarding press. She quickly turned her head away before anyone noticed and she felt Percy lean down close to her. 

"Well done, Abbott. Good decision." 

She tried to keep her face in a nondescript expression as she answered him. "I know." 

She felt him straighten up as Lucius cleared his throat and motioned for the gathered crowd into silence. 

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to gather you here today on the eve the wizarding world will hail as the beginning of a new age of greatness. Long have we tolerated the impurity of Muggles infiltrating our lives. Long have we watched them tarnish the bloodlines at will. Long have we watched them tarnish the image of what a real wizard truly is. No more! Today we take back our rights as the superior lineage, and it is my honour to announce the method in which we will do it." 

Hannah felt her breath catch in her throat as she felt Percy stand rigid as he clenched his fist hard by his side. She turned her head towards the crowd to see Lavender bring a hand to her eyes while Dean merely looked at the front, his mouth open in shock. 

"Abbott, concentrate," Percy whispered quietly. "There's more." 

She nodded her head and turned back to the man reading his speech. She tried to block out what he was saying with anything she could think off. With the words of her favourite songs, with mental lists of things she had to do, with ideas for presents she had to buy for her mother's birthday. She used anything and everything to try and block it out but she couldn't. His pale, maniacal face burned through her eyes and his vicious cold words invaded her thoughts. This was really it. This wasn't a dream. God help them, what would they do now? 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

"The Ministry has decided a number of methods shall be taken to ensure that the pollution of the wizarding world doesn't continue any longer," Snape said as he looked out towards the tables in front of him. 

Seamus looked out from the teachers table in the Great Hall towards the stunned faces of the students. No one could believe what they were hearing. What their headmaster was saying. Truth be told, Seamus could hardly believe it himself. It was like a nightmare situation. Something that only happened in horror stories. He had seen the speech, he had read it. But hearing it, seeing the reaction on the children's faces as they listened to a speech designed to terrify them and not being able to stop it. Every instinct screamed at him to act, to stop this but he couldn't. If he did, it would be worse for them. And he couldn't let that happen. 

"All wizards of Muggle origin will be forcibly expelled from our world to go live with their own kind. Due to the rules created at the founding of this school, none of you shall be denied an education regardless of origin, but there shall be some changes made to allow the Pure Bloods to flourish. Those of you of Muggle descent shall now be excluded from Quidditch, Defence Against The Dark Arts and Potions lessons. This will take affect immediately. Any of you who engage in anti-Ministry actions shall find yourselves expelled from this school without appeal. As we strive to purify our world it is important to remember that no Mud-bloods will be permitted to fraternise with Pure-bloods outside of school. Any fraternisation will be met with instant expulsion," Snape looked away from the students then as he continued. "You should all be grateful that you are being permitted to stay and learn in amongst your betters. You should all be thankful for the mercy of the Ministry." 

Seamus bit down on the inside of his lip as he heard teachers sniffing back tears beside him. He ignored them and looked down at the Gryffindor table where a shocked Dennis looked as though he was about to be sick. He closed his eyes to try and avoid that look, that scared, terrified, disappointed look but he couldn't. The bile in his throat forced him to open his eyes, to remember those faces. He stopped listening to Snape as a group of Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws stood from their tables, shot disgusted towards the teachers, as a few of them ripped off their ties and threw them on the floor in anger and walked out the Great Hall. Snape paused, and for a second Seamus could have swore he saw a fleeting look of pride flash across the hard features before disappearing as he turned back to the teachers. "Those students will be disciplined after we've finished. I expect them to understand that that type of behaviour will not be tolerated." 

Seamus looked down at his hands in shame as Snape rumpled up the speech and stormed from the room towards the headmasters office, leaving a stunned, half empty Great Hall staring at their food and in tears. What on earth could they do now? 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Hermione closed her eyes as Dumbledore finished reading from the sheet of paper to the group in front of him. 

"The expulsion will begin at the end of the week. All Mud-bloods will receive letters by owl tomorrow informing them of their removal. If they do not remove themselves from our world voluntarily then we will have no choice but to remove them ourselves. This is not an idle threat. This is the beginning of the new era. A pure era." 

Dumbledore looked up at the group as Ron slid his arm around Hermione's shoulders. She let him pull her in close as she looked at Dumbledore's expression. It wasn't one of defeat, or fear, or even surprise - he looked as though he expected it and was determined. She wasn't sure what she had expected his reaction to be, but this wasn't it. He almost looked...prepared. He had been ready for it, even though no one else had been. She shouldn't have been surprised. He always had been one step ahead of the game and now was no exception. She kept looking at him as Dumbledore lifted his gaze and looked directly at her and gave a small nod and a reassuring smile before turning away. She smiled as she looked at him, knowing full well that Dumbledore knew what she was thinking and had agreed to it. He knew as well as she did that she was no use to anyone in hiding and that she had no intention of cowering from anyone and that meant she would have to do some serious thinking. She looked up at Ron and Harry and sighed as she closed her eyes. She had to decide what to do when she still had a choice, and she could only see one viable option and that was to leave. She just hoped that they would understand. 

TBC 


End file.
